Name: German cherry streusel
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 680 gm jarred pitted morello cherries, strained, juice and cherries reserved separately; 60 gm caster sugar; 30 gm cornflour; Streusel; 150 gm plain flour (1 cup); 100 gm caster sugar; 100 gm chilled butter; Finely grated rind of 1 lemon; Cinnamon sugar; 1½ tbsp caster sugar; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; Sweet pastry; 250 gm self-raising flour (1 1/3 cups); 150 gm chilled butter, coarsely chopped; 75 gm caster sugar; 1 egg, lightly whisked; 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

German cherry streusel

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for German cherry streusel by Brigitte Hafner.

Serves 12

Prep

40M

Cook

40M

Total

1H 20M

“This is a very simple cake to whip up at short notice, and it’s nice to eat warm with a dollop of cream,” says Brigitte Hafner. “I find European brands of morello cherries best because they’re not overly sweet. It’s also really delicious if you substitute fresh plums when they’re in season – Angelina Burdett plums being the best, I find.”

Ingredients

680 gm jarred pitted morello cherries, strained, juice and cherries reserved separately

60 gm caster sugar

30 gm cornflour

Streusel

150 gm plain flour (1 cup)

100 gm caster sugar

100 gm chilled butter

Finely grated rind of 1 lemon

Cinnamon sugar

1½ tbsp caster sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Sweet pastry

250 gm self-raising flour (1 1/3 cups)

150 gm chilled butter, coarsely chopped

75 gm caster sugar

1 egg, lightly whisked

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Method

Main

1.Preheat oven to 170C. Place cherry juice, sugar and cornflour in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to the boil, stirring continuously, then whisk until mixture thickens (2-3 minutes). Stir in cherries, remove from heat, cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside to cool.

2.For streusel, process ingredients in a food processor until coarse breadcrumbs form. Transfer to a bowl, bring mixture together with fingers to form large lumps about the size of your thumbnail, then set aside.

3.For cinnamon sugar, combine ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

4.For sweet pastry, process flour, butter, sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. With the processor running, add egg and vanilla, process until the dough just starts to come together, turn onto a lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and roll out to fit the base of a 20cm x 30cm slice tin lined with baking paper. Top with cherry mixture then streusel and bake until golden (40 minutes). Dust with cinnamon sugar and serve.